Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Feel the Heal: Gratitude

Bernie Siegel, MD or Bernie as he likes to be called has been my chosen dad and rebirthing coach through many phases of my healing journey dating back to the 1980's when I was hospitalized with a staph infection in my shoulder joint. After finding myself in a mess with my mind, body and soul crying out for healing in December of 2006, I remembered how Bernie talked about the importance of gratitude and seeing every challenge as a blessing if one is going to heal their life.

One of my early poems was:

The Gift of Polio

Thank you God for the gift of polio that brought me so close to you
while paralyzed I saw your face no matter what I’d do
Many wonderful healers you sent them to me at age 5
perseverance and triumph life’s lessons learned
but my Spirit could not yet thrive.

At age 53 the gift was sent to me a second time
having time to sit and feel to heal I started to rhyme.
The second time felt worse than the first
yet your love and wisdom I found
out of pain and weakness and fatigue a remarkable spirit rebound.

Reliving all the trauma of special shoes and such
I discovered remarkable healers who brought a loving touch.
I had no clue I had such strength and the ability to grow
no matter what the outcome deep gratitude I show.

This gift so precious I live a new life gratitude flows from me
my heart and soul are filled with grace each day’s a gift from thee.

More recently, I wrote this poem that came to me during a meditation when I felt goosebumps of gratitude:

Gratitude Tingles

Heart opens in quiet eyes are closed gratitudes trickle then flow
the basics a home, good food and love awareness begins to grow.
Each beat of my heart reminds me I’m a miracle of life
grace showers constantly upon me relieving alleviating strife.

Goosebumps with each reflection every breath a moment to pause
gratitude tingles feel the warmth relaxing unclenching jaws.
Grateful to now be fully alive so blessed to be kissed awake
appreciation flows in every vein for granted nothing I take.

What joy there is in this journey let Spirit within ever reign
trusting in goodness and kindness erases all fear and pain.
Memory traces from the past pale and fade when facing Source
gratitude overpowers correcting direction on my life’s course.

In moments of meditation happiness joy and peace
from the depths of my soul a fountain grateful blessings increase.
Lips upturn into beautiful smile from head’s crown to tip of toes
gratitude tingles tickling trail of delight everywhere gratitude goes.

Living with an attitude of gratitude and forgiveness to those who hurt me have been the lynchpins in my marathon of healing.

Some days I feel ridiculously happy - so grateful to be alive:

Happy To Be Alive

Face to face with death at knife point
cold darkened eyes stare into mine
unflinching I stare back
afraid to move a muscle
already dead.

Life force safely tucked away
unknowing the outcome of this untimely encounter with death
at the hands of a madman
reasoning destroyed by gin and vermouth.

Angels intervene
he finds peace in death
I am left to put the pieces of my life back together again.
As numbness gives way to pain
pain gives way to gratitude
appreciation for this wondrous wonder filled life

where nothing makes sense and everything makes sense

purpose out of pain
grace in ungodly moments
surrounded by love
happy so happy to be alive

to tell the tale of one who almost died.

What are you grateful for? Do you live with an attitude of gratitude? When you do, you will feel the heal!

I am delighted to be able to share my healing odyssey and my gift of poetry with you in this latest anthology of my poems.

You can purchase your copies along with "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility," and "Journey Well" on Amazon. I have already started writing poems for "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life Volume II", and "Going the Distance" which chronicles these latest miles on my marathon of healing from my knee injury last December to when I cross the finish lines of the Bermuda Half Marathon in January 2016 and the Newport Marathon in October.

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About Me

"I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this
sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up,
no matter what else happened.” Wilma Rudolph, polio survivor and Olympic
Champion

I've known challenges since I was five years old beginning
with contracting paralytic polio and then enduring nine years of violence at
the hands of family members. Those early challenges helped me to grow into the
woman that I am today and prepared me to take on the challenge of Post-Polio
Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine Standards.

Diagnosed in December 2006 at the height of my award winning
career as a social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs, I had done
what I'd always done when faced with life’s trials and tribulations. I got
still and asked for Divine Guidance. It came through my pen, my divining rod of
healing. Poetry flowed inspiring mind, body and soul to heal.

I took a leap of faith in May 2007, leaving my career to go
on a quest to heal my life. The first poem I wrote, “Running the Race,”
foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run as a mobility impaired runner. I
feverishly wrote poetry harnessing the power of my imagination to heal my life. Eight
years after beginning my quest to heal the effects of paralytic polio and
trauma, after a serious knee injury, I was able to get traction on my healing journey. I became a woman transformed; a woman who goes the distance on the roads and in my life and who embodies the power of endurance.

I am an Author, an Endurance Runner, a Motivational Speaker, Blogger
and Inspirational Poet.

I hold a BS in Communications from Boston University, an MSW
from Boston College and many fond memories of my veterans and their families
who blessed my life when I worked at the VA . I live in Chestnut Hill
Massachusetts with Tom, my husband, my soul mate and the man who has gone the
distance with me for the past 40 years.